Jon,
Thanks for handling this very well. It is indeed a huge concern and could possibly be something that pulls Tesla down in the months and years ahead if its not well thought through.
I am one of the early Model S owners having reserved mine in 2012 ( ( P11040) and probably the only one with 4 accidents to date and last one being last Tuesday.
It is exactly as you say - Every time the folks at TSC ( especially here at Raleigh TSC - Trevor, Gwenen and the team are family to us ! ) have been so so so quick in their turn around it is unbelievable - it is always the body shop and the delay in the parts ordering processes where it gets delayed. Let me detail my various experiences reverse chronologically FYI :
1. Accident 7 Mar 2017 : ( BTW both my wife's and my life's saved only because it was a Tesla - we opened the doors and walked away even though there were 10 ways we could have died that day ! But that another story )
- 7 Mar : Car towed to Body Shop ( Caliber Collision )
- 9 Mar : initial inspection done only then because they have 14 Tesla's in line and 1 trained person to handle them ! Insurance agent visits but they decide it needs to be taken to TSC to check suspension and wheel damage as well as possible impact on motor.
- 13 Mar : I call and push and prod
- 14 Mar : Again call push and prod and car finally towed to TSC
- 15 Mar : TSC inspects it, finds damage to suspension and one wheel and fix it immediately
- 16 Mar : they have the car driving again to test alignment and end of day it will be ready to go back to Body shop ( TSC turnaround in 24 hours )
- However the body shop will be able to strip it down for final estimate only next week as they have 14 Teslas ahead of me
- So somewhere toward the mid or end of next week alone will they be able to order the parts - i.e 2 weeks + already gone by !
- Then comes the parts ordering nightmare which in my past experiences have taken anywhere between 3 weeks to 3 months !
2.
Accident on 19 Aug 2015 - side swiped - could drive car - however ordering and body shop work took
1 month + to fix . Parts Ordered 31 Aug - arrived Sep 10 - Car fixed Oct 1 week.
3.
Accident 0n 10 Mar 2015 - Rear ended - couldn't drive car - took
1 month + got it on 16 April just to replace bumper and rear incidentals . TSC Service Manager Trevor was very helpful in calling up Tesla CA to get a last remaining part in time for us to got the MD Tesla meetup
4.
Accident on 6 Dec 2016 - Rear ended -
got it back after almost 3 Months ! - 26 Feb - At that time there were huge delays in getting parts and at the end of 2 months of waiting TSC Raleigh was good enough to acknowledge Tesla delay and give me a loaner.
So bottom line Jon, things have come a long way from those days. Tesla Service Centers are awesome ! However as long as Tesla doesn't have control over the entire process Tesla will not be able to deliver the same impeccably outstanding level of service that we owners are so used to and even spoilt with now !
So hope with the Model 3 coming out ( 2 of which I am waiting for as well ) the stress will be all the more ( or less with autonomous driving ) but either way thing these body shop work also needs to be brought in house to ensure that level of quality and customer experience !
On a personal note hope yu will have someone assigned to the case for my P11040 and deal directly with Caliber Collision ( Raleigh, NC ) so that the parts are delivered in time and someone from Tesla is at the very least managing the process and not making me have to call them every day !
Thanks
Thomas